Yesterday at a press conference Amy Goodman seemed more concerned with her own arrest, and asking questions about it, than being concerned with the rest of the situation. She’s very self-serving and it’s sad to see her go from being a great journalist to being a sub-par gonzo journalist.

]]>By: Phikushttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273166
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273166KYLE@96: Just because Xeni said you were behaving like a douche doesn’t mean that she called you a douche. Are we supposed to empathize with you now for blaming the victim? Why don’t you go get some footage of your own, since no one can seem to meet your standards. As Takuan said eloquently above @13: “when you’re shivering in the dark you don’t spit on the few embers present.”

JOHNATHAN V@~: No matter how many times you state your opinion like a broken record, it doesn’t make it so. Get a new script please.

CHRIS GRISWOLD@45: Maybe it is your login that should be omitted. As Xeni has said many times before: “There’s this thing called a spacebar…”

KIERAN O’NEILL@72 and elsewhere: Thanks for trying to keep us on thread and objective.

It is a shame that these protests turned violent, but I don’t see Amy Goodman shoving anyone. She merely doesn’t immediately let herself be shoved after they have already started to arrest her. She tries to look to someone in charge to appeal to, but this is not shoving. The cop interposes himself. Her account of what happened seems accurate enough to me. (@82)

Let us pause to think for a moment as to why this is happening, shall we? I deplore all of the violence or destruction of property engaged in by protesters, but for those of you who believe they should not be disrupting a “vital part of our democratic process” let us consider the events that have led to this.

The last two presidential elections in this country were stolen outright, removing the most vital part of our democratic process: the vote. Laws like the Patriot Act and others have stripped away our constitutional rights one by one, mostly behind closed doors. Corporate special interests and lobbyists have shown time and time again that they own the government, and have continued to strip away the things we used to love about this country, often against overwhelming opposition and uprising by the American people. We are being spied upon by are own government and the corporations that illegally perpetrated this (starting well before 9-11) are now immune from prosecution. Crimes committed by senior officials in the bush administration (Enron, Valerie Plame, etc.) continue to go unpunished, and those responsible cannot even be held accountable by congress for failing to even show up and testify. This administration has bullied and broken every check and balance that once made this country a beacon of liberty and democracy, while “enforced democracy” has been exported to the benefit of war profiteers, and to the detriment of the citizens of these lands so their resources can continue to be exploited. Thousands of Americans have died, and over a million Iraqis have been killed, maimed, and tortured in our name, and in the name of “Freedom.” Jails and utilities have been privatized so that they are now providing inescapable incentives to deny service and create more criminals, all in the name of big business. The environment has been systematically raped, while they continue to negligently disregard global warming and shackle us Big Oil, ignoring real energy alternatives in order to line their pockets. There are many many more examples of greed and corruption becoming the rule here now, while ethics and liberties, rights and laws are simply tossed aside when inconvenient in the mad grab for power for the few at the expense of the rest of us, as well as unborn generations to come.

Is it any wonder why many people feel desperate enough to try to seek any means of making their voices heard, especially with a news media that is either outright bought or completely cowed into submission? In this context, what can possibly justify your defense of those willing to be the front lines of crushing the only voice left to the people?

Both conventions are being protested because the two-horse system is ensuring that many of the real issues are not even being discussed. The Democrats have either been to weak to stand up for the people, or outright complicit in some of this administration’s crimes. It is quite telling that someone felt the need to preemptively detain journalists and others peacefully and innocently assembling before the convention of the party in power.

I just did another check of the mainstream media: Still crickets in regards to the protests, except we’re hearing a lot about those Thai protesters. What does this say about the state of our country?

]]>By: jbanghttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272912
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-27291259 FLAKCATCHER: I don’t know what level of events you were reporting on, or what situation of “conflict” that involved.. but journalists did use to have a certain ability to clear lines much more elaborate than shown in this video. There is a wealth of such reporting from riots and protests for decades – and that’s camera, reporter. The lot.

In our Terror-threat filled world it seems that the default response from police is to riot themselves, often putting protesters in a “don’t retaliate, get really hurt” or “defend self, get superficially injured, arrested” situation. I’ve seen in for the G12 conference in Melbourne a few years ago.

The sad thing is organised anarchists (yeah yeah, contradiction) really fuck it up for other people when they go out to randomly disrupt with violent and aggressive actions. Police, media, talking heads all latch onto the footage of those few people and label tar other descenters with the same brush – depends on your media outlet of choice, though.

Kyle: I never tire of douches holding blogs to these crazy standards and… god knows. It’s a blog. And the fact that boingboing are drawing attention to this means a LOT more eyeballs and brains will be evaluating it. Incidental heroes, but heroes none-the-less. It’s a very crappy thing to come here and dismiss these individual’s efforts simply because there’s not enough of what you specifically want to see.

And I’m sorry but she didn’t do her job very well. For one, she did keep trying to push past the line. For two, riot cops aren’t in the right frame of mind to merely talk about anything. It maybe could have been handled better on the cops end. it definitely could have been handled better from her end.

And finally, the fact that BB posted about this and other things at all is something to be grateful for. We don’t pay for this site. We just read it, and frankly, this hardly fits under the “wonderful things” banner at the top of the page.

I’ve disemvoweled you for commenting without bothering to read the thread. Your question has been answered many times over.

]]>By: Raj77http://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272921
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272921Y’know guys, cops on the ground aren’t evil. Most of them are pretty dumb, most of them are authoritarian (the two are connected) but they’re not what’s wrong with your country. The sort of fatalism that suggests that nothing can or will change with a new administration is a self-fulfilling prophecy- you all have the right to demand that it does. Begin at the grass-roots- your police, judges, etc are political appointees even if they aren’t directly elected. You get to wield the new broom in ’09: do something about it, don’t whine about how similar it looks to the old broom.

Apathy and passive cynicism are the only things that can destroy you.

]]>By: Takuanhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273177
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273177http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=602_1220378279
]]>By: Enochrewthttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272923
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272923#67: I think your link might be broken, but I found the video anyway. It’s pretty apparent that those protester/marchers were intent on causing a disruption by not following the agreed upon marching route and instead just pushing into the police. Also I’d like to point out that when the pepper spray got sprayed, all of the photagraphers and journalists that were pressing into the crowd got sprayed. You know who didn’t? The person taking the video that we watched in the link. That person got a better angle and covered the situation without interfering. Amy Goodman might want to take note.

When things get bad in a situation that was pictured, it isn’t the journalist’s job to make things worse. As I mentioned above, the story can still be captured and reported on, but it’s also people’s civic duty (that I would contend is more important from a safety or standpoint) to confuse the situation and get in the way of police trying to defuse a dangerous situation.

I live and work in downtown Denver, and dealt the the DNC last week, so I’ve the pressures going on here. I have to say though, I’m not aware of a single broken window here in Denver during the DNC, so the Twin Cities already have a much worse situation on their hands.

]]>By: Phikushttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273183
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273183There are groups trying to pierce the silence of the media in publicizing the arrest of Amy Goodman. You can sign petitions here and here. Thanks! =D
]]>By: Enochrewthttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273699
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273699#127 Antinous: Were they protesting the war and loss of constitutional rights? I couldn’t tell, and they never let their grievance be known The only thing that I saw in that video was them carrying signs with their group name(s) on it. All I saw them do was damage a trash can, break some windows, and push into a police line. Maybe they were protesting America’s poor education system that didn’t teach them how to make a right turn on a clearly defined route? Again, when it happened, everyone know what the Boston Tea Party was about. These vandalisms in the Twin Cities are so non-specific that they can’t even be called protests.
]]>By: Takuanhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273189
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273189http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=41d_1220369138
]]>By: ill lichhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273192
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273192#103 HOHUM

Today everyone has camera phones and digital cameras with video capability, I’m assuming someone nearby who wasn’t arrested has some footage that details more than the Amy Goodman footage here. Maybe I’m assuming too much (like the footage might be as damning as the Rodney King footage), but even footage of an army of thugs in black armor rounding up peaceful civilians en masse looks bad.

]]>By: Baldheadhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272937
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272937I’m sure there’s a ton of these, but: http://www.slate.com/id/2199060/
]]>By: Takuanhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273449
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273449@138
you are saying she was stupid for expecting the rights of a citizen and the prerogatives of a reporter in her own country.
]]>By: zikzakhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273194
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273194I’m a real live anarchist who participates in disruptive, militant protests like this. Does anyone have anything they’d like to understand better?

I ask because it seems that there are a lot of basic misunderstandings about some concepts like “anarchists”, “anarchism”, “peaceful protesters”, and “free speech”. For example: Anarchists are not necessarily people who participate in riots, and people who participate in riots are not necessarily anarchists. Anarchists are people who feel that any form of oppression is wrong, and that hierarchical governments are inherently oppressive.

Also, “anarchism” does not mean “no rules” or “chaos”, it simply means no leaders or rulers. Most anarchists value organization and cooperation very highly, they just feel we need to arrive at decisions as a group, rather than having decisions made by some and forced on everyone else.

Criticism of “violence” versus “peaceful protesters” is also confusing. Is smashing a window violent? Is smashing a protester’s face into the pavement violent? Is sitting quietly at home while your government kills people all over the world violent? Is refusing to do whatever is most effective to stop your government violent? Anyone who contemplates these issues seriously realizes that violence is a continuum, not a black and white thing. There is no such thing as non-violence in first world, because our entire “peaceful” existence is predicated on violence against others.

“Free speech” is also a noble ideal, but it remains little more than an ideal in our society, since information flow is controlled for the most part by a rapidly dwindling number of mega-corps. I’m sure that activists would love to not have to stage a massive, aggressive demonstration aimed at disrupting a major event and instead simply get the opportunity to publicize their perspectives and analysis of the two-party system alongside the GOP big-wigs. Unfortunately they can’t. Unfortunately the only way they seem to be able to get any attention at all is by causing huge disruptions. These disruptions sometimes limit other people’s freedoms, which is also unfortunate. But the GOP isn’t going to be silenced by some demonstrators – they have practically unlimited access to freedom of speech. And the urgency of the criticisms the protesters have and the repression their message otherwise faces is such that their right to free speech clearly takes precedence.

“””Secondly, when she approached that police line, the officer very quickly started shoving her, and the whole group obviously realised she was press, as they called out “get rid of the journalist”.”””

He didn’t shove her until she ignored ‘go to the sidewalk’ 3 times.

He didn’t know she was a journalist, didn’t care. just because the crowd says so, doesn’t mean anything. did he look over her credentials? no. would he have if she went to the sidewalk as she was asked? maybe. he wasn’t in press mode, he was in riot mode.

“””Anyway, I don’t think anyone is attacking the action taken by the police against the anarchists (who were breaking the law). What we are expressing concern over are:

1. The targeting by the police of journalists.
2. The pre-emptive raids on protest groups and journalists before the convention.
3. The possibility that the actions of the anarchists were taken by or instigated by police/FBI agent provocateurs.
“””

See, I haven’t heard of any journalists being targeted for being journalists. I’ve seen crossfire, and i’ve seen journalists-turned-activists — but i haven’t see someone being targeted for reporting itself.

I’m 100% outraged by the pre-emptive raids on the groups before the convention. That was uncalled for, ridiculous, and possibly illegal ( they did have warrants – which means they likely are legal. granting the warrants seems like a huge abuse of power though, as was targeting these groups ).

I wouldn’t be surprised if cops / fbi instigated people to break the law in front of them, so they had grounds to arrest them…. but here’s a rhetorical question:

if the cops are arresting people for no good reason, and abusing the warrants system — why would they instigate a riot, when they are already likely to arrest people for no reason whatsoever?

]]>By: Takuanhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273195
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273195if Youtube won’t post it there is always herehttp://wikileaks.org/
]]>By: jonathan_vhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272684
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272684I’m glad this video is circulating – I was outraged when I heard about the situation, but did a 180 after seeing this.

Honestly, what was she thinking?

The cop said “go to the sidewalk” THREE TIMES and started escorting her away, she clearly kept trying to resist, and they didn’t try to arrest her until she pushed back.

There was a TON of awful police activity and wrongful arrests at the RNC. I fail to see how this was close.

If the cops tell you to move out of the way, do it. You can question them verbally – but if they escort you out of an area and you physically push back on them — you’re asking for trouble.

]]>By: Lewis Haidthttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272942
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272942Damm, this last two weeks, between MSNBC using Sorkin as the Presidential analyst — hello, what about “real” analysts w/ real knowledge about imploding criminal, educational, infrastructure, health care systems, we’ve lost the news with is essential to any democracy which a public, not managed, faux-vegas-public-square, good.

So the only question is how will the Am. project get re-built and will the veterans of Seattle not adjusting tactics to fit our new, hyper-insecure, police state.

Amy and friends need to realize that frontal attacks in a network world only serve to re-informce the reactionary opposite side, raising the heat on each side, but ultimately undermining their own project by saying stuck in this dialetic.

We need to be much more creative, and I was struck by the New Yorker article on Burma where an activist after 12 years in jail for standing up 4 human rights, decided that frontal attempts to change politics were doomed and little things like teaching children how to make theatre are far more substantive, meaningful and effective, at least in his exp.

Quite a different perspective and I wonder how progressives can learn going forwrard in our protests against the Rep. this fall.

Do we know if Amy’s been let out yet?

]]>By: Takuanhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-273710
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-273710we should be flattered, Rush Limbaugh actually felt it necessary to post here. He’ll be back though. In all his various incarnations.
]]>By: Xeni Jardinhttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272687
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272687Kyle, spare me the attitude, just share the information instead, which i thank you for btw. Today was intended to be a day off for all of us, I broke the vacation silence to post a few items, but we’re not CNN here with dozens of producers all over the place. We’re four bloggers who were basically taking the day off for time with our families.
]]>By: cycle23http://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272689
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272689Stupid Kyle.
]]>By: Antinoushttp://boingboing.net/2008/09/01/radio-news-host-arre.html#comment-272690
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-272690Once upon a time, by which I mean up until a couple of years ago, police treated media personnel very differently. The rights of the free press were considered so important, that the cops simply allowed them to do their jobs. Any journalist with even five years’ experience remembers that the press were generally considered exempt from police orders to move back or move out, except in imminently life-threatening situations. Now it’s SOP to rough up or arrest journalists, or if they’re on foreign soil, shoot them.

The free press is a de facto independent arm of the US government, a vital part of our system of checks and balances. That fact outweighs the police expectation that citizens should obey their every command.